Bimanual pelvic examination is not an accurate screen for ovarian cancer

the Oncology Nurse Advisor take:

A recent study examined the accuracy of the bimanual pelvic examination in identifying ovarian cancer.

The examination is performed during a routine pelvic examination and allows doctors to potentially detect abnormalities occurring in a woman’s cervix. However, it is not likely to benefit healthy women.

The researchers found that the bimanual examination only detected approximately half of cancers. In addition, when an abnormality was detected, cancer was detected in only approximately 2% of women.

Despite the findings of this study, bimanual pelvic examination is still an important part of a complete physical examination in women experiencing symptoms suspicious for cancer.